More images and video from the track.
It's no secret that we build cars to drive. Every project car we've screwed together has seen plenty of miles on the road and on the race track. If we have 'em, we're gonna beat on 'em, and that's just what we did around Thanksgiving at a small road course in west Alabama. What did we bring and how did it do? Read on and find out.
When Dynacorn released their reproduction ’69 Camaro body, and followed it up with the repop ’67 Mustang body, the immediate buzz in the hobby was the great benefit to restorers and rodders, as it saves a ton of time and money over trying to bring an original back to useable condition. The immediate buzz around our office was “Wouldn’t they be the perfect starting point for a race car?!”
So of course that’s what we did with the first Camaro Coupe and Mustang bodies we could get our hands on. The Camaro was rolled out for last year’s Forza Challenge TV show, and features a 572-inch big block, TKO 5-speed, Detroit Speed & Engineering rear four link suspension with mini-tubs, a Moser 12-bolt rear and big Baer Brakes at the corners.
The Mustang body was the first Dynacorn produced, and was displayed at the 2006 SEMA show. We stripped off the blue paint it was wearing, filled it with a cage, Grigg’s Racing front and rear suspension, a Ford Racing Boss 347 stroker, TKO600 trans, huge Baer brakes, a Kirkey seat and little else.
The Camaro and Mustang bodies make such good foundations for track cars, in fact, that we've decided to offer them up to the public for just such a purpose. Check out more on the Track Car program here.
Another car we’ve been thrashing on was an R&D mule ’78 Trans Am, part of the Burt Reynolds Edition TA
program. The car, which we affectionately named the SuperChicken, will be used to test various heavy-duty BRE bits on the racetrack. A Detroit Speed & Engineering Quadra Link was again used for the rear, along with their brand new hydroformed second-gen front subframe. Huge Baer Brakes are used again, along with a pretty heavily massaged TKO600. With the all-aluminum Butler Performance 535 cubic inch engine pushed back about three inches, and down a little over an inch, the front/rear weight bias is an amazing 49/51. Yeah, the car handles.
The plan is to wring these cars out at Road Atlanta during the YearOne Experience, use them for research and development, and generally have a good time with them. To that end, the first order of business was to get them dialed in a bit—adjusting the carbs, suspensions, find out what needs to be fixed, that sort of thing. We rented Talladega Grand Prix Raceway for the day, invited Kyle Tucker from DSE down, and wore out some tires. Kyle showed up with his ’69 Camaro, while YO employees Phil Brewer and Pat Staton came with their red Firebirds. We also pulled out our Forza Challenger, and brought one of our Burt Reynold’s Edition Trans Ams.
The Mustang performed really well. A couple of small tuning issues, an exhaust leak and a bum alternator proved to be the only significant issues with the car. It was spun a couple times in the corners, and made one pass impersonating a lawn mower. We also need to solve the power steering fluid pushing out past the cap.
The Forza Camaro has been on track several times, so a lot of the bugs are already worked out. Some minor carb adjustments were all that was needed…until the trans let go, losing everything above Second gear. We weren’t surprised, and frankly, were amazed the trans lasted this long, considering the power the engine makes and the abuse it’s taken.
The Forza Challenger blew an air bag in the rear suspension on the first couple of passes. Tony Roe, the car’s adopted care taker, drove into town and found a set of air shocks, swapped out the bags and had the car back on the track. The big-block Mopar is backed by a 4L60 overdrive trans—there’s some torque converter work needed, and oil keeps getting sucked out the breathers. It also needs a set of beefier brakes.
Kyle Tucker’s ’69 Camaro didn’t require anything other than some tire pressure adjustments, and impressed everyone who drove it. The car handles like a go-cart, and looks good doing it. Nobody was surprised.
Pat Staton swapped some R-compound tires on his driver YearOne Firebird, made dozens of laps, swapped back to his street tires and drove home. It should always be so easy.
Phil’s Firebird is a lot of fun to drive with the torquey 400-inch small block. A heat sink issue with the starter requires long cool-downs between sessions, but Phil has probably fixed that by now. A loose torque arm bolt was the only other issue. It spun once, but Phil wants us to mention he wasn’t driving at the time…
The BRE Ban III TA got hammered on all day, and took everything in stride. We recently upped the rear spring rate a bit, and this improved the car’s track manners by making the chassis more neutral. We might go up a bit more in the future just to see how it responds. One thing’s for sure, the dry-sump LS7 loves the racetrack, with good manners down low and a big-block rush up top. Great engine.
The Trans Am track car (SuperChicken) did very well—much better than we’d have thought for a car right out of the box. The crank case evacuation system did its job, but a little too aggressively, pushing some oil out of the reservoir can. Other than that, a little tuning on the carb and distributor, and a few chassis adjustments were really all the car needed. The last laps of the day were put down in the Trans Am, with a very experienced driver behind the wheel. We won’t name any names (bluecamaro), but either a little too much right foot (700 ft-lbs of torque!) or not enough hand action on the steering wheel sent the car into the grass—where he found the only ditch on the property. It could have been a lot worse—he straightened the car out and hit it head-on, rather than sideways. Damage Report: cracked nose, gone chin spoiler, bent core support
and fenders; Steering rack flexed into the oil pan, giving it a ¼-inch dimple that wasn’t there before, and one of the brackets on the rear end isn’t as straight as it used to be; Bruised ego.
That’s pretty much why we left it suede black—we don’t expect this to be the last off-road excursion. We’re just glad it was him and not one of us in the seat!
At the end of the day we learned a lot about the various cars on hand, and had a lot of fun. We’re already laying the groundwork for another outing, purely for testing and R&D purposes, of course. Rest assured we’ll have a complete report the next time we hit the track.